Is it
possible to be fashionable and thrifty in Second Life, and is it reasonable?

Second
Life is a world filled with shopping events and the desire to create the most
fashionable avatar on the grid. It is all too common for new residents to
become overwhelmed with trying to create in trying to craft their own unique
persona on a limited budget without being exiled to prim-laden attire from the
pre-mesh era.

The
question of pursuing Second Life is often of cost. While our virtual world is
considered a free simulator by the gaming industry, everything within it
surrounds the value of the Linden. Not every person is able to upload $20US
(the equivalent of about 4090 lindens) to have an updated avatar, and some
question if it is even possible to play the game freely.

Interested
potential residents often do not know about the ever growing freebie fashion
community which has made Second Life possible for many new players to play
without looking amateurish. Groups such as SL Frees and Offers have an upward
of 54,000 members, and popular blogs such as Fabulously Free bring in dozens of
views per day for both women and men alike.

They aid
new residents in their ever evolving avatar be it in the form of skins,
fashion, furniture, housing, or many other items that further the creative
nature that exists behind Second Life. Indeed it is the free items that
showcase what many designers are capable of and draw in new and old players
alike to peruse their shelves in search of bigger and better to truly craft
their avatar to be something special and unique to them.

The
methods creators use to offer these freebies often surround generating store
traffic in exchange for these free items. It takes time and friends to
successfully freebie hunt, but there are entire groups dedicated to helping
members become successful.

The first
and most popular method which creators use are group gifts. Second Life groups
allow creators to advertise potential customers of new releases. The more
members that are in the group, the wider their audience and potential of making
a sale is. In exchange for members staying in the group, they are offered a
gift or two every month.

However,
there are methods that don't take up group space, considering there are
thousands of groups in Second Life, and our avatars are only allowed to
participate in 42 of them. One of these methods is the lucky chair or board.

A lucky
chair is a chair with a letter connected to it. The letter, after a certain
amount of time, will change to another. Using the first initial of a resident's
legacy name, an avatar with a name beginning with that letter is able to sit
down and obtain a prize in the chair's vault. There is another variety called a
lucky board that doesn't require a resident to sit in it, but rather just click
on it to obtain the prize.

Depending
on the countdown on each chair, this can be time consuming. Considering there
are 24 letters in the alphabet, and with residents able to have numbers in the
beginning of their legacy name, there are 9 numbers mixed into each chair, and
one wildcard round symbolized by a question mark. Waiting five minutes for each
letter to pop up, praying it's your initial, is a game of luck and time.

Residents
use groups such as SL Frees and Offers to call the letters out to other freebie
hunters. This allows them to make the letters rotate at a faster pace, and increases
their chances of having their initial pop up.

The next
method used is amidnight mania
board. This method involves a board with two sets of numbers on it. It is a
ratio of how many residents have clicked the board to how many residents are
needed to lock it down. If the board locks down, atmidnight all
the residents who clicked obtain the prize.Midnight Mania
boards are less time consuming, but involve worrying about your instant
messages capping if you've gone to bed beforemidnight.

While the
first three methods above are the most popular methods of obtaining freebies,
they are not the only ones out there. New methods continue to pop up, such as
puzzle games and chairs that require you to sit in them for ten minutes to an
hour. It is all up to the creator and what method seems to appeal to them the
best.

For
Avatars looking for more exclusive gifts, some creators charge a fee to enter
their groups. These groups provide VIP access to free store credit for new
releases every month, discounts, and group gifts of superior quality. There is
also a method called 7Seas fishing that allows people to fish for clothing
given by creators. Of course, you also obtain prim fish you can breed and
trade, but many use this method to get clothes they can trade between fellow
fishers. These methods are costly, costing anywhere between 50 lindens and
above, but often give nicer quality gifts.

In the
end, with all the possibilities of obtaining free items, residents can fashion
their avatar at little to no cost at all. Second Life is a very charitable and
fascinating world, and is entirely playable for those looking for something for
free to occupy their free time.

10
comments:

In the year 2015 you're still blogging about freebies in SL.Why are you so fucking cheap, goddamnit this cancer is killing SL. You even proclaim L$50 to be "costly". The fuck? Why don't you git gud at a job or influence people to contribute to Secondlife through the creation of goods. With these practices, everyone will look like a scrub from 2007 with no coordination.To anyone reading this, sure you can get by being cheap as shit, but you will look like shit. Chances are, you'll still be outdated. Show me a free avatar that doesn't look like shit.

what a debby downer you are! from the looks of how you give an opinion it is clear that you are a judgemental, superficial avatar who has poor communication skills. It isn't necessary to throw cursing around just because there are options to be thrifty in second life. i founda lot of nice complete avatars on the sl marketplace under 50L that are actually very pretty. I can also also go to fashion outlets and found free gifts and other low priced itemsthat work for me.Not everyone has to look like a supermodel in second life. get a grip and learn to be approachable because no matter how "hot" you think you look your personality will make you look terrible and no amount of lindens can fix that!

I agree. You don't have to spend a lot of lindens to be happy with your own personal style. There's no need to degrade anyone who wants to use freebies and low cost items. I come to sl to listen to concerts and hang out with my friends. They don't judge me me and I don't really care what other people think. I am happy with my look and that's what matters the most. It is people like that which gives SL a bad name because they are so rude. It is ridiculous and unnecessary.

This was my first trial article for SLE, and naturally I wrote about what I know the most about in Second Life. I started out a freebie hunter as a broke college student trying to find something fun to do. My heart always goes out to people on a limited budget, and I am always vocal about being able to play without extreme cost. I don't know why you said I think 50L is too much, because if you read my personal blog, I buy quite a bit (when able) and I did get an SL job writing articles for SLE as a fashion consultant.

We must all remember SL products are virtual, or 'not real'. Not everyone has the real life $ to purchase unreal products. True the creators wish to make as many $ off the players as they possibly can for their time and creations and that is fine for those who have the $ and wish to pay. However people should not be prevented to play on SL for lack of $. So the freebies, gifts are great. Further they are as top quality as any of the other goods the creator provides. Or their reputation will be destroyed. So it is a win win. Remember this is only a game, I spend real life $ on real life things and dont care if someone things me cheap or not a quality avatar. I have fun and that is the whole point of SL.

For 99L I got this complete avatar and she came with clothes, hair, shoes and she looks very pretty. Here is a link! https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Ricielli-BERRY-Skins-Shape-6-looks-Mesh-Dress-Mesh-Jacket-Clothes-Boots-Bikini-lingerie24-HRS-PROMOTION/2876428

Secondly, as a first article, I think that Tay did bloody good. If, Mr or Mrs Anoymous would care to submit an article to me personally, I'd be glad to critique it in the same way. Although, "git gud" isn't the greatest way to criticise someone on their style of writing or the content therein.

Yes there are ways of earning good money to buy all the latest high priced gear. Yes, you can buy free stuff that will make you look like you just fell out of a Linden's ass. But, you know what? People love bargains and freebies.

If you'd like to make a more constructed comment feel free to do so, but please....in the year 2015.....why so angry?

As SL progressed creators became more talented, their products more professional. The first products looked bad to now but not when first made. One must chose carefully what free products to take. Established creators make and give away quality product. To do less only hurts their reputation.